Originally Posted by
Eroica 
Jim is trying to play mind games with everyone. The alcoholic label was invented by AA so it has everything to do with definitions. Its not like there's a word for alcoholic in every langauge and culture. Its exclusively BB talk. Once you identify as an "alcoholic" then the "alcoholic" solution is only possible through AA.. Since AA invented the word in the first place, it will always have one up on the other person. It's like asking someone if they're a sinner or not. Well, how can u be when there's no such thing as sin??? Alcoholism is not alcohol addiction. Alcoholism is an outdated stigmatizing concept that brings shame, fear, and self-loathing to so many people that it should be abolished.
Please let's not start making things up here! This has got to be one of the most imaginary and fantastic manifestations of denial that I've witnessed in recent memory: Just banish the word "alcoholism" and the condition vanishes????? Talk about mind games! Maybe we just need to try banishing the words "recession" and "partisanship" and "pandemic" and......
Oh, well, in the meantime, while we all wait with baited breath to see how well that "creative" little strategy works out for the world:
The term "alcoholism" was first used by Magnus Huss in his
Chronische Alkoholskrankheit, published in 1852 -- which, by my calculations, would be over 80 years before the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Furthermore, the fact that a given culture does or does not have a word for a certain "thing" is no accurate indication of that thing's existence or non-existence. In fact, it is far more often an indication of either the fact that the culture does not value that particular "thing" and/or the fact that the culture is in deep denial about it.
And, I'm sorry, but no individual or small group of individuals gets to arbitrarily change what words are used by or what words mean for the speakers of an entire language. The idea that anyone might have the power or the right to do so totally undermines the purpose of human language -- which is to allow for effective communication between human beings. As far as the English language goes, the ultimate authority is the
OED (
Oxford English Dictionary), and if you get a chance to check one out, I'm pretty sure that, for "alcoholism" you'll find, not only its history preceding the founding of AA, but also the fact that it really does mean, among other things, "addiction to alcoholic liquor."
Finally, as I've said elsewhere in other contexts, if anyone's behavior is such that it causes him/her to feel shame, fear, self-loathing, etc.. when others discuss it truthfully and/or label it accurately, then the solution to that problem is for that individual to do what is necessary to change his/her behavior. Trying to forbid, or otherwise discourage, others from using the terms currently in use to correctly label that behavior is a blatant attempt to shift responsibility away from the person engaging in the behavior.
freya